DiscoverThe Colin McEnroe ShowThe unfolding evolution of origami
The unfolding evolution of origami

The unfolding evolution of origami

Update: 2025-08-19
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How do you make a 100-meter telescope that folds down to three meters so you can tuck it inside a space vehicle? How do you make a heart stent that folds out inside the human body? In each case, researchers have turned to masters of origami, the thousand-year-old art of paper folding.

This hour, a look at how paper folding went from a quaint, simple hobby to an extensive form of art that can achieve hundreds of intricate folds. Plus: the ways origami is used beyond the art world, in mathematics, science, and technology.

GUESTS:

  • Erik Demaine: Professor of computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Robert J. Lang: The author of co-author of more than 20 books on origami art and design

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

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Colin McEnroe, Betsy Kaplan, and Jonathan McNicol contributed to this show, which originally aired March 13, 2014.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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The unfolding evolution of origami

The unfolding evolution of origami

Connecticut Public Radio